A/N:Disclaimer: All Harry Potter-related characters, names, places, objects, spells, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling. I only own the original characters and the plot.

Chapter 8

~Maddie~

For the next few months, things are fine. Classes are classes, normal and for the most part, boring, although Sirius keeps Potions interesting. Quidditch is better than ever. The win against Ravenclaw has gotten everyone’s spirits up. Frank is improving every day. We win all of the matches in October and November. James is thrilled.

I haven’t spoken a word to Lucas, and that’s how I prefer it. I didn’t keep to my plan of swearing off boys, though…I kind of reverted back to my old ways.

But only kind of! I’m still snogging quite a few blokes, but not as much as I used to. Either way, I’m nowhere near as bad as Sirius.

Time passes quickly, and before I know it, there’s snow covering the ground and Christmas holidays are only a week away.

I’m going home, as is James. Sirius ran away from home last summer, and the Potters have taken him in, so he’s coming with James to celebrate with what he refers to as his true family. Lily is going home to see her family as well, and I know she’s nervous to see her sister, Petunia, who isn’t quite so friendly to magic. Since I know she’s uncomfortable around her, Lily is going to celebrate Christmas with her family, and then come to my house. Besides, she wouldn’t miss the Potters’ big New Year’s Eve Party. She’s been going to them forever, even when she couldn’t stand James. It’s just a party you don’t want to miss.

“No,” she says, shaking her head impatiently, “the grounds will be so crowded later. This is the perfect time to go!”

“Okay, fine, I’m up.”

“No, you’re not, your eyes are closed,” Alice says. “Now get up!”

“I’m up, I’m up,” I say. I climb out of bed, and see that Lily is still sleeping soundly.

“How come you didn’t wake her up?” I complain.

“Because she’s much easier to get up than you are,” she says, and then proves her point. “Lils, wake up, we have class! You overslept!”

“What?” Lily’s voice is panicky as she shoots up in bed, checks her clock, sees the time and gasps. “Sweet Merlin, Transfiguration started fifteen minutes ago! Why didn’t my alarm go off? Why aren’t you two dressed? Why-”

“Lily, calm down!” interrupts Alice. “It’s Saturday.”

“What?” Lily asks in a slightly hysterical tone. “Then why did you just say we had class?” she demands.

“To wake you up,” says Alice simply. “I want to have a snowball fight with the boys.”

Lily sighs. “Really, Alice, there are more tactful ways of waking someone up.”

“Yeah, but it worked, didn’t it?” Alice says, a smile creeping across her face, and Lily smiles too. No one can stay mad at Alice.

“Let’s go wake up the boys!” says Alice cheerfully. We follow her out of our dormitory. Since there’s nothing stopping us from entering the boys’ dormitory, we do so with ease.

“Okay,” Alice whispers as we climb the stairs, “I’ll wake up Frank. Maddie, you wake up Sirius. Lily, you wake up James.”

“Why do I get James?” Lily demands. Alice rolls her eyes.

“Just do it, Lils! He’ll be sure to wake up for you.”

“Yeah, if he doesn’t have a heart attack at the sight of Lily Evans in his bed,” I laugh. Lily blushes.

“I’m not going to be in his bed,” she says hastily. “I’ll be next to it.”

I shrug. “Suit yourself, I’m pouncing on Black.” I can just tell Sirius is one of those people who doesn’t like being woken up early, just like me, so this will be fun.

We enter the boys’ dormitory to the five four poster beds lined up. The hangings are all drawn, but it’s obvious whose is whose. Surrounding Peter’s bed are a bunch of candy wrappers—Chocolate-covered Frogs, Bertie Bott’s, etc. On Frank’s night table there is a framed picture of him and Alice. On Remus’s trunk at the end of his bed there are lots of books, and some schoolwork. James’s trunk has JAMES POTTER lettered in gold on the bottom, something his mother insisted on, seeing as she suspected he’d lose it back in first year. Which leaves Sirius’s bed as the one next to James’s. There’s a magazine advertising what looks like motorcycles on the night table, and a Gryffindor pennant hanging on the wall next to his bed.

Alice nods to us. I go over to Sirius’s bed, throw open the hangings, and pounce on him, just like I said I would.

“Rise and shine, Black!” I say cheerfully.

Then I realize he’s shirtless.

“Mads?” Sirius opens his eyes and looks at me confused. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I-er-Alice’s idea-you don’t sleep with a shirt on in the winter?” I stammer, unable to take my eyes off his chest. Damn, has Sirius Black got muscle.

“Not always, as you can see,” he says amusedly. “Is there a reason you’re on top of me?”

“I-er-snowball fight?” I attempt to explain. He still looks confused.

“You do know we’re inside, right?” he chuckles.

I blush. “Yes, of course I know that, I was just trying to explain, Alice dragged me out of bed at bloody nine in the morning because she wanted to have a snowball fight with you lot, and then she dragged us in here to wake you up, and, well that’s what I did.”

~Sirius~

Mads is cute when she’s flustered.

“Got it,” I say. “Well I can’t very well get up if you’re on top of me, now can I?”

She blushes again and gets off of me.

“And surely you’re not going to engage in a snowball fight like that?” I say, taking in her appearance. Long dark brown curls pulled back into a sloppy ponytail, flannel pajamas, and slippers.

She folds her arms over her chest. “Alice dragged me in here,” she repeats. “And at least I’m not risking getting frostbite while I sleep.”

I shrug. “I can’t help it if I’m hot,” I say, winking at her. She rolls her eyes.

“Oh for goodness sake, James, please snap out of it,” Lily is saying. Maddie and I look over at James, who has sort of a dazed expression on his face.

“You’re in my dormitory,” says James. “I have to savor this; it may never happen again!”

“Okay,” Alice says, “get dressed and meet us in the common room. Bring Peter and Remus if you’d like.”

“See you soon,” Maddie says. The girls leave.

“Padfoot!” James is saying. “She was here! Evans was here! In our dormitory! Next to my bed!”

We laugh as we head out to the grounds. “Okay,” says Alice. “How do we want to do this?”

“Boys against girls!” shouts James immediately.

“Really, James?” asks Lily.

“Oh, are you scared?” asks James in mock concern.

Lily grins. “Boys against girls it is.”

We separate and Lily, Alice, and I head to the other side of the grounds. I gather a snowball in my hand.

“Commence!” roars Sirius, and we run into the middle of the snowy field. I hurl my snowball at Sirius with all the strength I can muster. It hits him in the chest.

“Oh, it is on, Lane,” he says devilishly, and before I can blink an eye he’s gotten me back, right on my neck.

“You’re going to pay for that one, Black!” I shout. I gather a snowball bigger than the last and chuck it right back at him. This time it catches him in the face, snow going everywhere.

“I’m going to get you for that!” Sirius yells.

“You’ve got to catch me first!” I call back teasingly, and set off at a run. I know he’s right behind me. I run as fast as I can, but he’s faster. He tackles me to the ground, both of us getting covered in snow. He’s holding himself up over me, his arms on either side of my head.

“Gotcha,” he says, panting. “And now you know how I felt this morning.”

“I’m not shirtless,” I point out.

He grins. “Too bad for that.”

I feel myself blushing.

“Surrender,” Sirius commands.

“Never!”

“You can’t escape me,” he says. “Be reasonable. I know for a fact that another member of your camp has already been captured.”

I look over. Frank has Alice around the waist, and she’s attempting to fight him off to no avail.

“And,” he adds, “Evans isn’t a very offensive player.”

I glance over at Lily, who is crouching behind a snow-covered rock, hiding from an oncoming James, armed with snowballs.

“So surrender, Lane,” he says, “and I just may spare you.”

“Well, if it’s a life or death matter…” I say, gathering some snow in my hand.

“Oh, it is.”

“Then I suppose I have no other choice but to…”

I take the snow in my hand, pull the top of his coat away from his neck, and let go of the snow, right down his shirt.

He yells out from the cold, and I take the opportunity to escape.

“Well done, Lane,” he calls. “But this isn’t over yet!”

~Sirius~

The next day is our last Quidditch practice before Christmas holidays. Some people hate Quidditch in the snow, but I love it. There’s something about the cold wind on my face and the way the snow is a whirlwind in the air that makes Quidditch that much more challenging, and I love a good challenge.

“All right, team!” James yells over the howl of the wind. “Great practice! Have a good holiday!”

We all head to the ground. I fall into step beside Mads on our way to the changing rooms.

“So will I be seeing you this fine holiday break?” I ask her.

“I daresay you will,” she says, reaching behind her and releasing her hair from its ponytail. She looks so pretty as her long curls spill over her shoulders. Whoa, snap out of it, Black.

We reach the changing rooms and separate. “See you in a bit,” Maddie says as she walks into the girls’ changing room.

~Maddie~

Kimmy changes quickly, having left her packing until the last minute, and leaves me in the changing room by myself.

I change into warmer clothes, and pack up my practice robes. Then I hear a knock on the door.

“Er-come in?” I say, wondering who it is.

Sirius walks in, surveying the room. “Nice place you’ve got here.”

I laugh. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be in here.”

He shrugs. “I know.” He starts walking toward me. “You know, Mads,” he says. “With all the people the two of us have snogged, we’ve never snogged each other.”

I don’t know what to say. I don’t know why my heart’s just started beating faster, or why my throat’s suddenly gone dry. “That would be correct.”

He’s still walking toward me, wearing an expression I can’t read. “Why do you think that is?”

“Well, because… it would be….” I trail off, not being able to find the words, because I don’t know the words I’m looking for.

He’s standing right in front of me. “It would be,” he agrees softly.

I’m suddenly aware of how close he is. We are only inches apart; I can hear him breathing. I look up at him. His long black hair falls across his forehead. He’s looking straight at me with those penetrating grey eyes.

“Mads…” It comes out in a whisper. And then his lips are on mine, softer than I ever would have expected.

At first the kiss is gentle, his lips grazing mine softly. I feel a shiver go down my spine at his touch. In very little time, it grows deeper; his hands reach behind me and trail all the way down my body, resting themselves around my waist. Mine find their way in his long, shaggy, black hair, still wet from the snow. His tongue is at the entrance of my mouth, begging for permission to enter and I grant it with no hesitation. I press my body into his, desperate for more contact. He kisses me like he’s drowning and I’m air. I’m lost in him, savoring every second, wanting more, needing more, needing him.

I don’t know how long we stay like this, kissing like there’s no tomorrow. It could’ve been days, could’ve been weeks, it doesn’t matter, because this is the only thing that matters right now. Sirius, kissing him, and never stopping.

Unfortunately, we do stop. I don’t know what brings it about, but suddenly we’re there, foreheads touching, breathing hard.

“Mads,” he says again in a barely audible voice. “I…”

I stand there and wait for him to finish the sentence, but he doesn’t. I can’t take the silence, the not knowing what the hell just happened between us, why my friend Sirius has just kissed me, why I liked it so much, and why now my heart is beating at the speed of light, and most of all, why I want to kiss him again.

I can’t take the silence and the not knowing.

And he’s not speaking. Or giving me any answers.

So I grab my bag, and I run.

A/N:So here it is! The big moment. What did you think? (I know it may have seemed slightly sudden, but don't you agree that Maddie's had enough guy experience that if it wasn't she would've seen it coming? ;) ) PLEASE let me know what you thought about this chapter, seeing as it's a pretty important one in the story. Thanks for reading!